This post is a long time in coming. I want to share with you what I’ve learned about preventing toxic halides from getting into your body. Why is this important? It’s because iodine, a halide mineral that we need for the functioning of our thyroid gland but also for ALL cells, is easily displaced by the other halides fluorine, bromine, and chlorine. My research has focused mostly on fluoride as a potent toxin, but I will share a little bit about bromine and chlorine too.
If you combine iodine deficiency with input of toxic halides, you get a body that can’t function well. Both glandular hypothyroidism (type 1) and cellular hypothyroidism (type 2) play a big role in migraine symptoms (you can read more about the thyroid gland and migraine here and here and here).
Because the thyroid gland regulates body temperature, and because body temperature in turn affects the structure of all molecules and enzymes in the body, it is critical to the functioning of the entire body. You can be taking all of the right nutrients but if your body temperature is off enzyme systems will be off:
“When enzymes get too warm, they get too loose. And when they get too cold, then they get too tight. When they are just the right temperature, then they are just the right shape and the chemical reactions that they catalyze take place at the optimal rate and with the most ease.” https://www.wilsonssyndrome.com/ebook/body-function-dependent-on-body-temperature/enzyme-function-dependent-on-temperature/
All this to say, you need to protect both your thyroid gland and all the cells in your body from toxic halides in order to have sufficient iodine for a healthy metabolism and to prevent migraine. Too many toxic halides will not only greatly increase your risk of migraine, but also your chance of developing fibromyalgia, ovarian cysts, cystic breasts, endometriosis, and any other form of cystitis. Fluoride toxicity in particular can also lead to acne, delayed brain development in children, calcification of the pineal gland, dental and skeletal fluorosis, arthritis, and more.
Fluoride is an Industrial Waste Byproduct and Has no Nutritional Use in the Body
In terms of avoiding toxic halides, fluoride is probably the most ubiquitous halide and therefore the most difficult to avoid. While the toxicity of fluoride has been widely denied, my research has shown that the amount of fluoride consumed from daily water intake of fluoridated water is equivalent to the amount used in medications to treat hyperthyroidism and slow thyroid function down (see Dr. Brownstein’s book “Iodine: Why You Need It, Why You Can’t Live Without It”).
The Truth About Fluoride is a good resource for learning about fluoride toxicity.
“Fluorine is an element, the most electronegative element on the periodic table which makes it extremely reactive. This means it loves electrons and like all elements it wants to become stable, to do so it has to pick up one more electron. In the process of picking up one more electron it becomes a negative ion. In other words, it now becomes fluoride (F-).” https://truthaboutfluoride.com/what-is-fluoride/
Fluoride is a toxic industrial byproduct that increases calcification in the body. The most common form of fluoride, fluorosilic acid, is produced as a chemical “byproduct” of the aluminum, steel, cement, and phosphate industries.
Previous to the use of liquid fluoride as fluorosilic acid, fluoride gasses were released into the atmosphere from the phosphate industry. These fluoride gasses destroyed crops and crippled cattle. Due to this environmental damage and the lawsuits that followed, industries were forced to find a new way to deal with the toxic fluoride. So they found a way to convert the fluoride vapours into fluorosilic acid, a liquid that was more containable.
“Once captured in the scrubbers, the fluoride acid (hydrofluorosilicic acid), is barreled up and sold (without any refining) to water treatment facilities across North America.” https://truthaboutfluoride.com/what-is-fluoride/
Fluoride & Mineral Dynamics
Fluoride displaces iodine but also copper. It has an intimate relationship with calcium, causing hardening and calcification of tissues that come into contact with it. It is highly acidifying, and one of the the most volatile minerals in the table of the elements.
How to Avoid Fluoride
Fluorosilic acid and other fluoride compounds now make their way into people’s bodies and tissue through water, medications, toothpastes, and food. Here are the main sources of fluoride poisoning and how you can prevent it:
Fluoridated water: Many municipalities fluoridate their water, but not all do. Contact your local water bureau and find out whether your water is fluoridated – and if it is, consider getting active locally to have it removed. If you have copper pipes in your house, the fluoride will leach the copper from the pipes into your water. If your water is fluoridated, you will need to find a good filter or an alternate source of water. The most straightforward way to remove fluoride from drinking water is with an under-the-sink reverse osmosis filter. It is unclear how much of it is absorbed through the skin with bathing. Also, some people on rural wells have naturally-occuring high levels of fluoride. You can get your well tested for fluoride or talk to your state or local environmental health agency to find out if fluoride is high in your general area.
Fluoride in medications: Fluoride is used in many medications: anesthetics, antacids, anti-anxiety medications, antibiotics, antidepressants, antifungals, antihistamines, cholesterol-lowering medications, anti-malarial, chemotherapy, arthritis medications, psychotropics, and steroids. You can look up a medication you are on and find out if it has fluoride in it here.
Fluoride in food: According the the Truth About Fluoride website, when it comes to foods with fluoride, levels generally depend on the fluoride content of the:
- Soil it’s grown in
- Water it lives in
- Water it’s made from
- Pesticides used for farming
- Cookware used for cooking
The top high-fluoride foods to avoid are:
- raisins and grapes and wine grown in California (a fluoride-based pesticide is used to treat a pest in the major grape-growing regions of California)
- crab and shrimp
- potato chips and french fries
- green and black tea (the camelia sinsensis plant readily takes up fluoride from soil, when it is present in soil)
- meat from any animals fed antibiotics
- meat from any animals fed fluoride (chicken is a big source)
- some table salt contains fluoride instead of iodine
Always eat organic chicken and meat, and avoid raisins and green and black teas if you want to avoid fluoride. You can use the database at the bottom of this page to search a food and find out its given fluoride content.
Also avoid teflon cookware. This is another source of exposure, as teflon is made with fluoride.
Fluoride in dental products: Dentists may regularly administer fluoride to harden teeth enamel, or reccommend fluoride-based toothpastes. By all means avoid these treatments and products, as this can be one of the most potent sources of fluoride. Here is a list of fluoride-free toothpaste brands. I personally use baking soda as my toothpaste. It changes the acidity of my mouth and has regenerated my gums. It’s dirt-cheap and super effective.
Bromine Poisoning
Bromine, while not as widespread as fluoride, is also a toxic halide that should be avoided. When people take higher dose iodine to dump bromide, they often develop a typical bromide rash on their legs.
The main source of bromide exposure is brominated flour. While flour used to be fortified with iodine, this was replaced with bromide back in the 60s. To avoid brominated flour, be sure to consume organic flour and foods made from organic flour exclusively.
The other major source of bromine exposure is from hot tubs, as bromine is used to sterilize the water. Some people get a bromine rash from hot tubs. People who get sufficient iodine will be less likely to be negatively affected by bathing in brominated water.
Bromine is also in some medications. Here are the meds I was able to find that contain it:
- All cough medicines containing Dextromethorphan hydrobromide
- Alphagen (brimonidine)
- Atrovent (Ipratropium)
- Celexa (citalopram)
- Combivent (from the ipratropium)
- Enablex (darifenac)
- Guaifenex DM (dextromethorphan)
- Razadyne (galantamine)
- Spiriva (tiotropium)
This is just a small list of the major offenders. A more complete list of medications containing bromine can be found here.
Chlorine poisoning
I need to look into this more, but as fas as I’m aware chlorine is in almost all water supplies and is added to swimming pools and hot tubs as the main exposure sources. It is unclear to me how toxic chlorine is compared to fluorine or bromine. Since it is a gas, and off-gasses, my guess is that it is relatively less toxic. Again, people who are deficient in iodine will be more negatively affected by chlorine exposure.
While iodine and the other halides do not show up on an HTMA, symptoms of iodine deficiency are relatively easy to detect. An HTMA can help to identify your levels of the other minerals needed for thyroid function along with any heavy metal toxicities that may be at play. If you would like to get your Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis done, it is included in the Repattern Migraine Masterclass.
